The invention relates to a support element or a motor bracket for a wiper drive. The invention particularly relates to a support element for a wiper drive of a wiper system in a motor vehicle.
A wiper system comprises a wiper arm and a wiper blade, wherein the wiper arm is set into a pivoting movement about a driven shaft by means of a wiper drive; thus enabling the wiper blade to be guided across a wiping region of a window pane. The window pane can particularly be a windshield of a motor vehicle. The wiper drive is usually attached to a body of the motor vehicle, wherein the attachment must be able to transfer forces to the body that are usual during normal operation. Besides the usual wiping forces, said forces also include peak loads, for example if the wiper blade is moved against an obstacle during wiping, when the wiper arm is being folded down onto or folded back from the window pane or within the scope of changing the wiper blade.
Were the motor vehicle to collide with a person, in particular a pedestrian, a substantial risk of injury can occur to the pedestrian if, for example, his or her head strikes against the wiper shaft of the drive device. In order to reduce the risk of injury to the person during such an impact as much as possible, different measures are taken. One measure relates to lowering the wiper shaft in the event of excessive axial load.
To this end, the drive device is fixed to the body by means of a support element, also referred to as motor bracket, wherein the support element comprises one or a plurality of predetermined breaking points which are set up to break when a predetermined force or energy is exceeded. In so doing, the drive device comprising the wiper shaft and, as the case may be, portions of the wiper arm can drop down below the original installation position thereof and thus be moved out of a danger zone for the affected person.
In order to assess a health risk to the person as a result of the impact during collision, parameters are determined which are summarized in the so-called HIC value (head injury criteria). The force acting on the drive device in order to cause a release of the predetermined breaking point is one of these parameters. Said parameters also include the time delay between the introduction of the force and the breaking of the predetermined breaking point.
In order to better protect the person involved in the accident from the wiper system, it is the aim of the invention to specify a support element comprising a predetermined breaking point, wherein the support element is configured in such a way that the HIC value is positively influenced.